James Halliday Honours Two Paddocks
We are pleased to see that wine critic and Pinot Noir guru, James Halliday has listed Two Paddocks 1998 Neill Pinot Noir among his "Best of the Best" by variety in his Australia and New Zealand Wine Companion 2001. Mr. Halliday awards us 90 points.
He writes, "In terms of total production, Pinot Noir will never challenge Sauvignon Blanc in N.Z. but has every likelihood of displacing it as the national flag-carrier."
He also identifies 1998 as an outstanding vintage, and says that the South Island Pinots in such vintages can be wines with "astonishing colour, flavour, and power."
We take our inclusion (along with such peers as Felton Road, Whither Hills, Gibbston Valley, and Quartz Reef) as an honour, particularly as we have long admired and drunk Halliday's own Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir (in particular the reserve). We also recommend his new Wine Companion.